GOP senators call for Barr to release full results of Epstein investigation

Republican Sens. Ron Johnson (Wis.) and Chuck Grassley (Iowa) on Thursday called on Attorney General William Barr to make public the results of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s death.

Barr announced Saturday that he had directed the FBI and the DOJ inspector general (IG) to investigate Epstein’s apparent suicide at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Manhattan over the weekend, which came while he awaited trial on sex trafficking and abuse charges.

{mosads}“We fully support your call for a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding Mr. Epstein’s death. True accountability, however, especially for the victims of Mr. Epstein, requires full transparency,” Johnson and Grassley wrote in a letter to the attorney general.

“For that reason, we ask for your commitment to make the results of the FBI and IG investigations public as soon as they are completed,” they added, also requesting the DOJ keep them apprised of any progress the investigation makes along the way.

Barr said he was “appalled” and “angry” over the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death, saying in public comments Monday that the DOJ was aware of “serious irregularities” at the Manhattan prison.

“We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation,” Barr said Monday. “The FBI and the Office of Inspector General are doing just that.”

Epstein, who in 2008 was convicted on separate sexual misconduct charges, was arrested last month over allegedly leading a sex trafficking operation dealing in underage girls from 2002 to 2005. 

Lawmakers have demanded answers as to why Epstein, who had been placed on suicide watch back in late July after reportedly being found with marks on his neck, was not more closely monitored. Officials have also expressed concern about reports of misconduct at the prison, including that guards in Epstein’s unit fell asleep and failed to check on him for roughly three hours during the time when he is believed to have hanged himself.

On Tuesday, the DOJ ordered the Bureau of Prisons to temporarily reassign the MCC warden amid the ongoing probe.